About Lynn Abbey: Marilyn Lorraine "Lynn" Abbey is an American computer programmer and author.
When I'm not writing or tweaking my computer, I do embroidery. When I'm not plunging into the past, tweaking, or embroidering, I'm reading books about history, computers, or embroidery.
One of my great passions is the collection of historical trivia.
Neophyte writers tend to believe that there is something magical about ideas and that if they can just get a hold of a good one, then their futures are ensured.
A good short-story writer has an instinct for sketching in just enough background to ground the specific story.
That bedrock faith that I could write was what blinded me to attempts to discourage me.
No one uses a ribbon typewriter any more, but your final draft is not the time to try to wring a few more sheets out of your inkjet cartridge.
I think my prose reads as if English were my second language. By the time I get to the end of a paragraph, I'm dodging bullets and gasping for breath.
It's been a long time since I've written old-fashioned sword and sorcery; I'm hoping it's like riding a bicycle.
The money can be decent, but I really don't recommend the work-for-hire route as an entry into publishing. Too many things can go wrong.
